Here I am to start off the first of our Camp Coordinator blogs! I hope the smiling mug to the left is a familiar face. My name is Taylor Petty and I am back for another summer (#11). This time as your Program Coordinator! I am excited for this opportunity to serve and to play a role in making summer camp happen.

The theme for this blog series is Leave No Trace (LNT). LNT is a set of outdoor ethics designed to help us recreate responsibly in the wilderness. In this photo I am acting out "Respect Wildlife" by storing my food away from animals. Respect for the natural world is one of the things I hope campers take home with them.

I am a Recreation Management major at Appalachian State University in my sophomore year. I recently spent the fall semester abroad in New Zealand with the National Outdoor Leadership School. There I learned all sorts of things about canoeing, hiking, mountaineering, communication, leadership, and inclusion. I am so excited to bring these new skills back to camp!

Right now I am hard at work preparing for this summer. About a month ago Meredith came to visit Boone where Will (your Resource Coordinator) and I go to school. We had a meeting where she officially handed over our jobs. We also spent quite a bit of time discussing what qualities we want in our counselors and developing new interview questions. Since then I have interviewed several excited applicants for counselor and CIT positions. It is so energizing to talk to applicants about their love for Jesus and their passion for working with children. I have also been starting to think about and plan staff training. There is so much thought that goes into this part of our program. During staff training we teach the staff everything they need to know about camp and working with children. Our staff training lasts 10 days in order to fit all the necessary information in. Most of my current efforts are going into recruitment. I want the very best on our summer staff: broken people who love Jesus, children, and the outdoors.

Last week was the Outdoor Jobs Fair at Appalachian State! Alta Mons attended and spoke to many interested students! It was a great event and I hope it to see some applications from App students in our mailbox.

While summer may seem a ways away, here is a list of 5 things you can join me in being excited for and praying about.​​1. The college students who will be our counselors.2. We will reach our goal of 200 campers.3. We will be able to continue to provide a camp experience to children no matter their means through our campership fund.4. We already have chaplains and nurses committed to all four weeks of camp!5. Children and staff will experience God's love at camp this summer.